Abstract
In May 2012, the first authenticated cases of active chikungunya virus infection were detected in Champasak Province, Southern Laos. Analysis of series of human samples and mosquito specimens collected during the outbreak and over the year that followed the emergence enabled the drawing up of a map of the progression of CHIKV and the establishment of a full genetic characterization of the virus.
Highlights
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV; Togaviridae, genus alphavirus) was first identified in Tanzania in the 1950s
During the initial investigation of the outbreak from May to July 2012, 52 suspected cases were investigated by the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology (NCLE)
The circulation of CHIKV in the Lao PDR has been suspected for decades based on serological studies but despite the presence of wild and urban vectors, CHIKV had never been isolated in this country [1, 25]
Summary
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV; Togaviridae, genus alphavirus) was first identified in Tanzania in the 1950s. Genetic variability studies of CHIKV strains evidenced three different genotypes, referred to as Western African, Asian, and Eastern/Central/Southern African (ECSA) genotypes. While only a few complete genome sequences of Asian CHIKV isolates were obtained before 2005, phylogenetic analyses supported the contention that Asian isolates had significantly diversified to form a specific Asian genotype present in Asia since at least the eighteenth century [2]. Several recent studies in Asia over the last ten years evidenced that the ECSA genotype tends to supplant the Asian genotypes [7, 8, 9]. Asian genotypes were maintained, at least in Indonesia, and have recently spread out into Southern Pacific territories, the Caribbean islands, and the continental Americas [9, 10, 11]
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